AP English Language Advanced Placement

AP English Language – Grammar

You will not have a computer for spelling and grammar checking. You will be all alone with a pencil and paper. Vince Lombardi was the late great coach of the Green Bay Packers. If he were training you, he would start by saying:

“Students, this is a grammar.”

Ok, what type of literary device was that ? Vince exact quote was “Gentlemen, this is a football”. Was it Exposition? Was it Narration? Was it Description? Was it Argumentation? Was it an intentional error to emphasize a point? Did the writer flunk Grammar School?

First, we’re going to start with the basics of grammar. We will make sure we’re executing all the fundamentals. The fundamentals are

Nouns

Pronouns

Verbs

Adverbs

Adjectives

Prepositions

Interjections

I know you are thinking this is grade school stuff. However, the Internet is changing the way we communicate. Text message chops. Search engines optimize. Headlines minimize. Twitter just tweets.

The written English Language now looks spoken Chinese Language. Written Chinese is very hard to master. Spoken Chinese is very easy to master. It is bare bones communication. The text message “RU DANCING ” translates to “Are you going dancing tonight? Can I join you? ”.

Notice the tacit understanding needed. Contextual understanding may work for Chinese. Contextual understating may work for your last text message. Contextual understanding is NOT appropriate for legal documents or essay tests. (IMHO)

Unfortunately, your neural synapses are now programmed for this electronic shorthand to the point that you can’t easily and coherently organize a group of sentences into an Analysis Essay, Argumentative Essay, or a Research (Synthesis) Essay. (This last sentence has a very low Flesch Reading Ease Score. It was difficult to understand. The last sentence was for illustration. Complex sentences are good for college professors. Complex sentences are bad for understanding. Mental gymnastics are reserved for sudoku)

AP English Language – Writing Under Pressure

FreeCell is a PC card game that teaches you how to think ahead and recognize patterns. If you have enough time, only one of 32,000 games FreeCell can’t be won. Life is basically pattern recognition. However, an essay test is timed. The time pressure can cause you to make BIG mistakes. Pen and paper are only used in essay tests and traffic tickets. Everyone else uses a spell checker.

AP English Language – Synthesis (Research) Essay

You synthesize information every time you review a movie. You give 1 to 5-star ratings. You remember the trend of these reviews. Synthesis develops a thesis or theory. In theory, any Jackie Chan movie is safe for family viewing. (Do not see Burn Hollywood Burn. ) Well, welcome to the Research or Synthesis Essay.

Advanced Placement English Language – Analysis Essay

To get really good at FreeCell you have to recognize the repeating patterns of how the cards are lining up. The same strategy of pattern recognition applies to analysis essay writing. You have to recognize how the game is played.

The patterns that you will need to recognize to write an analysis essay

Exposition : Illustrate a point of view

Narration : Tell a story or parable

Description : Create a mental picture using words. (the mind thinks in pictures)

Argumentation : Write statements that prove your point of view

These patterns are developed by these strategies

Giving examples

Classification

Comparing something against something

Cause and effect

Process

AP English Language – Argumentative Essay

The key concepts of Argumentative Essays

Recognizing the difference between arguable and non-arguable statements

Explains the purpose of verb tenses. Then it covers the six basic and six progressive tenses. The program begins ‘simple tenses’ (past, present, and future) and continues with explanations of the others.

Continues the study of verbs with uses of the active and passive voice and the imperative and subjunctive moods. Some tricky irregular verbs are also covered, as is the preference for the active voice in certain kinds of writing.

Covers rules regarding English capitalization and punctuation. It includes Capitalization of proper nouns, as well as the use of the period, exclamation point, question mark, comma, semicolon and colon.

Moves beyond rules of basic grammar and construction and into the area of organization and writing style. Designed for students who have already mastered the content of the earlier lessons to help them organize written assignments.

Covers how to organize and classify notes and various ways to organize a paper or report. Examples of reports organized by chronology and topic are shown, and writing commentaries, problem-solving reports and scientific experiments are covered.

Reviews the myriad sources and services available in libraries and how they can be accessed.Provides an introduction to the various categories of research materials and classification systems; presents information on online and computer-based systems including catalogs, periodical indexes, specialized indexes, government information and multi-media sources.

Presents information on selecting and narrowing a topic including the importance of choosing a subject of interest, making sure the subject can be adequately covered given the assigned paper length and time.

Presents information on classifying and categorizing materials into overview, focusing, and supporting materials; identifying and using primary and secondary sources appropriately; preparing a working bibliography; formatting note cards for books, periodicals, newspapers, and electronic materials.Information is presented on formulating a tentative thesis, using precise language, the importance of supporting the thesis with facts and limiting the thesis.

Students are shown how to organizing ideas into phrase or sentence outlines, how to maintain balance with supportive statements, rearrange main points with subheadings and to fine-tune and reformulate the thesis.

Emphasizes importance of working from the outline for the first draft. Suggests techniques for paragraph development by separating note cards by topic headings, matching detailed notes to outline, interpreting information, using transitions, crediting sources, and avoiding plagiarism.

Professional writers discuss the importance of writing and revision. Information is presented on identifying and strengthening the thesis statement, matching paragraphs to the outline, using quotations and transitions appropriately.

The explication is presented as an explanatory paper in literature, fine arts or philosophy. Information is provided on critiquing a work for style, use of symbolism and analysis of meaning; differences from a research paper are pointed out with examples from novels and poems.

Interpreting and explaining literature includes examples from poems, short stories, and novels with film clips from current movies made for TV. Writing about literature is presented as participating in reading by taking notes, paraphrasing, and recording initial reactions.

How to gather information, sift through the data, and arrive at a conclusion; common misconceptions about writing; the importance of selecting a subject of interest to the student; asking focusing questions; resource availability.

Recognizing the difference between arguable and non-arguable statements; understanding the audience in order to be persuasive; methods for establishing credibility; proving the thesis through inductive or deductive reasoning; avoiding the dangers of jumping to conclusions, logical fallacies and personal attacks; strengthening the essay by acknowledging opposing views.

Seminar session with students and instructor critiquing student essays for elements of good argumentative writing: identifying the audience, establishing credibility with supportive statements, and acknowledging opposing views.

Classroom session in which students and instructor review essays for grammatical and mechanical errors. Sentence fragments and errors in spelling, capitalization, subject-verb agreement, pronoun reference, redundancies, and misplaced modifiers are identified and corrected.

The explication as an interpretative paper in literature, fine arts or philosophy; critiquing the work for style, use of symbolism and analysis of meaning; the explication as commentary; differences from a research paper are pointed out with examples from novels and poems.

Students and instructor review sample explications on Hemingway’s ‘Indian Camp.’ Essays are discussed for use of imagery, injecting personal opinion, and the importance of strong introductory paragraphs.

Differences and similarities between writing an essay for class and writing an essay exam are examined. Note-taking, making an outline, using a timeline, and other techniques are suggested; identification of key and strategic terms: define, discuss, analyze, and compare and contrast.

Interpreting and explaining poems, short stories, and books; participating in reading by taking notes, paraphrasing, and recording initial reactions; the importance of rereading; writing about character and point of view.